Lagatar24 Desk
Mysuru, Aug 30: Rahul Gandhi declared on Wednesday that the Congress has kept its pre-election commitments to the people of Karnataka and that the “work” done by the Siddaramaiah-led administration would be replicated nationwide.
The Congress-led government in Karnataka started the “Gruha Lakshmi” plan on Wednesday in an effort to carry out another important pre-election pledge. The program provides nearly 1.1 crore women who are the heads of their homes with a monthly stipend of Rs 2,000.
AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge, who inaugurated the program, was joined by party MP Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and his deputy D K Shivakumar at the public event that took place at Maharaja College grounds. The gathering was attended by a massive crowd of tens of thousands.
“We have kept our word on our promises,” Gandhi said. “We never make false promises” The former AICC President added, “The work we have done in Karnataka will be replicated across India.”
The “Gruha Lakshmi” scheme, which was announced amid fanfare, is one of the five pre-election “guarantees” offered by the Congress, which defeated the BJP in the May Assembly elections.
“The five guarantees of the Congress are not just schemes; they are a governance model,” Gandhi said.
He said there is a “fashion” these days that the “government in Delhi” exclusively works for billionaires, taking a jab at the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
“Our thinking is that the Government should work for the welfare of poor people,” he said.
The chief minister had previously stated that three of the five “guarantees” (pre-poll pledges) — “Shakti,” “Gruha Jyothi,” and “Annabhagya” — had already been carried out by the administration and that “Gruha Lakshmi” was the fourth.
In the current fiscal year, the government has set aside Rs 17,500 crore for the “Gruha Lakshmi” scheme, he had stated.
The fifth guarantee, known as “Yuva Nidhi” (Youth Fund), affirms that it will provide unemployed graduates and diploma holders, respectively, with Rs 3,000 and Rs 1,500 per month if they are unable to find employment six months after passing their exams in the academic year 2022–2023.
In his speech at the event, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that the program would be put into effect in December or January.